


The Road to Asgard

by AylaPascal



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-09
Updated: 2015-08-09
Packaged: 2018-04-13 18:48:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4533198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AylaPascal/pseuds/AylaPascal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's after six years, seventy-eight false starts, and being half-drowned at least five times that Jane realises that the pathway of rainbows is just a metaphor and that there are other ways to travel to the stars.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Road to Asgard

**Author's Note:**

> Written for femgenficathon. Thank you to aigooism and thisgirl_is for being awesome betas!

It's after six years, seventy-eight false starts, and being half-drowned at least five times that Jane realises that the pathway of rainbows is just a metaphor and that there are other ways to travel to the stars. The way from Asgard to Earth isn't the same the other way around; no earthly machine can pass through the water, but Jane thinks that there might just be another way. The final machine, when she's finished with it, is a mash of technology and dreams, but Jane knows she's finally got it. The line between magic and science has never been so thin, and it's with a triumphant laugh that she flips the switch and rips a hole in the fabric of the universe.   
  
*  
  
When Jane arrives in Asgard, it's almost anti-climactic. The city ebbs and surges around her as everybody goes about their lives, not knowing just how much it took out of her, how much she sacrificed, to make it this far. As she glances around, she sees a man in shiny gold armour, holding a mighty sword, looking in her direction. His lips move and she thinks she can catch a murmur on the breeze.   
  
_This is not your place._  
  
*  
  
Their reunion is both public and bittersweet. Thor's a king now, and it's all different. She's spent the past six years of her life dedicated to her science, dedicated to finding him again. But he's spent the same time building his kingdom.   
  
The people whisper that he's a great king, maybe even as great as Odin himself, but with the same breath they call her Thor's mortal pet, with poisonous smiles on their faces. She's reached through the stars, but her science, her machine will never take the place of their 'bridge'. Jane knows this truth: Not in the eyes of his people and therefore not in their eyes of their king. If his people won't accept her, Thor _can't_.   
  
It's because of her that Thor is a great king, but there's a price to pay. There's _always_ a price to pay. And her price is that she'll never have anything more than the glimpse of a future together with Thor that she saw six years ago.   
  
Jane's surprised when she realises that she's okay with this.   
  
*  
  
There's a streak of grey in her hair that didn't exist six years ago. It's visible in the brightness of day, but Jane doesn't keep it tucked away. It's a tribute to the long days and nights she spent making the impossible happen. It's a tribute to everything she's ever worked so hard for and everything she's ever longed for. If she ever makes it back to Earth, her picture will be in the history books, with a wide smile and that little streak of grey hair.  
  
Sometimes, Jane thinks it makes her look distinguished. She's always been the only female in a profession that tended to attract old men with beards in lab coats or young men without beards in lab coats. She likes her jeans and sweatshirts too much.   
  
It's another thing that sets her apart.   
  
*  
  
I can live forever, Jane thinks as she smells the cloying scent of the legendary golden apple. I can stay here. Become like them. She can almost see her reflection in the surface of the apple, a small figure with a tiny frown on her face. The apple's heavy in her fingers, heavier than it ought to be, full of stolen years and an entire lifetime of offerings.   
  
"You can stay here," Thor offers, echoing her thoughts. His strong arm encircles her waist, but she twists out of it. There's a time for everything and their time has long departed. His face is blank as he adds, "You can even build us a new bridge. Then you can visit Midgard whenever you want."  
  
Jane closes her eyes. The immortality of those in Asgard is dearly bought if they need a mortal to open the gateway to the nine worlds. "Maybe," she says softly, but she's already made up her mind.   
  
*  
  
The decision to leave is remarkably easy. Even the farewells aren't as bad as she had feared. Jane's surprised when Volstagg gives her a giant bear hug and tells her to visit again soon. Fandral kisses her hand and Hogun bows. Sif's hug is stiffer, but Jane knows there's true feeling behind it. She thinks, out of all the people in Asgard, it's Sif who truly understands her decision. She's also fought for her position, every step of the way.   
  
Thor even makes a speech about the friendship between their worlds and how she has opened up the pathways between the worlds again.   
  
Jane keeps her mouth shut; she suspects there are many paths between the worlds, and the Asgard bridge was just one of them. Her machine's another. There are probably gaps out there between worlds just small enough for one person to sidle through. She thinks that she could spend her entire life looking for all of them.   
  
"Bye," Jane says awkwardly as she stands there, one hand on her machine.  
  
Thor nods. "You are always welcome here in Asgard, Jane Foster." There's a note of finality in his voice.   
  
"I'll try to visit." Jane's words are far less regal, but just as honest. She doesn't want this to be the last time she sees these people. She just doesn't want to live here in Asgard, never growing old, never changing.   
  
She hits a button and the world swallows her up.  
  
*  
  
The way from Earth to Asgard isn't the same as the other way around. Jane finds herself spluttering and half-drowned as she pushes herself out of the puddle of water. For a second, she thinks she's fallen down the waterfall into the spiralling darkness, but then she hears a familiar hum. Blinking water out of her eyes, Jane looks around. A few feet away, there's a chocolate bar wrapper, crumpled in the gutter. Beside it is an empty can of soda. There's the hum of technology in the air and the swirl of magic in her thoughts. She's home. With a grin, Jane stands up and wipes the water from her face. There's definitely a Nobel Prize in her future.   
  
Arthur C. Clarke was right, Jane thinks as she squelches along the street, the rain splattering her face. He didn't realise how right he was. Sufficiently advanced technology wasn't just indistinguishable from magic.  
  
They were one and the same. 


End file.
